Sesshou-maru's Heart
by Rachel3
Summary: A story based on an Inu Yasha RPG group I am in, involving my character's current situation with Sesshou-maru. It is only slightly angsty,and mainly romance.Please read and enjoy!
1. A Youkai Childhood

Sesshou-maru's Heart  
This fanfiction is based on Rumiko Takahashi's Inu Yasha series, using my character from the Inu Yasha RPG group I am in, and the situations she and the player-controlled Sesshou-maru gets into. Yes, someone plays him. Others play the rest of the 'original' characters. It is ran by Hono.  
  
  
Chapter One-A Youkai Childhood  
  
"Sesshou-maru, I'd like you to meet someone." Came the Great Demon's soft voice with its usual razor-edge hidden inside.   
"Aww...do I haffta?" Sesshou-maru, about age seven, pouted, arms crossed.  
"Yes. You have to. This..." He pointed to the tall, ever-so-pale youkai noblewoman who stood before them, "Is Taikiri. She is the mate of my old friend, Yamin." He pointed to another tall youkai, this one male, and dressed as finely as the first. His skin was pale, but not quite as pale as his mate's. Or perhaps it was just Taikiri's red-as-blood hair that made her skin seem so pale. Yamin had light, blondish brown hair that was short, extending only to his earlobes. He had stripes on his cheeks, much like Sesshou-maru and the Great Demon.   
"Feh, what does it matter if I meet these people?" Sesshou-maru scornfully said, much less serious than the one we know today.   
Suddenly, a little girl youkai came running into the room, in a much-too-big green kimono. Her hair was wildly flowing in two pigtails, and a blood-hued crimson that made her pale skin stand out. She had a grin on her oval little face, and grassy eyes sparkled mischievously. As she ran past Taikiri, the woman reached down easily and grabbed the little girl. "Eiralya...how many times have I told you? Show some respect in the hall of the Great Demon!" The girl quieted instantly, her green eyes going big and round. "Yes, mama." She whispered, her voice oddly silky for such a small child.  
"Humph. What's a girl like HER doing here?" Sesshou-maru scoffed.   
"Hey! Take that back, you...you...meanie!" Yelled the girl.   
"Make me." He said, sticking out his tongue.  
"Perfect." Said Yamin, laughing, to the Great Demon, who started chuckling as well.  
  
  
Later...  
  
"EEEEK! Stay away from me!" came a girl's scream.  
"Eh?" Sesshou-maru's pointed ears perked. Had that been Eira? He thought. Feh. A girl like her wouldn't need HIS help to handle anything...would she? He stood up, and followed the sound quietly, planning only to see what was going on. The scene that met his eyes drew a lot of rage from somewhere he hadn't realized existed. Five older-about ten or eleven, they looked to be- youkai guys had surrounded Eira, ripping the six-year old youkai's kimono.   
"Aww, come ON..." One said cruelly.  
"Just a kiss? We know you must be good at kissing, otherwise, why would Sesshou-maru tolerate you?" Cold laughter followed this.  
This REALLY made Sesshou-maru angry. How dare these fools assume things? They shouldn't do that. He leaped out from his hiding place, clawing across one boy's face, leaving at least three long claw scratches.  
"Sesshou-maru?" whispered Eira.  
"AAAAAH, it's Sesshou-maru!!" The other four guys screamed and started to run away. Sesshou-maru chased them, giving them all a beating they shouldn't forget. He then returned to where Eira was still curled up on the ground. "Are you alright?" He asked, feigning total non-concern.  
"I-I'm fine...thanks to YOU, Sesshou-maru!!" Eira had leaped up and was hugging Sesshou-maru quite tightly.  
"Gah! S-stop that!" He gulped. Surely he was only embarrassed...wasn't he?  
"Sorry." She let go, stepping back and blushing lightly.  
From the nearby bushes, two forms retreated.  
"You know, Yamin, I think bringing your daughter here was a perfect idea."  
"I agree my friend...or should I call you the Great Demon?"  
The two laughed at Yamin's teasing tone.  
  
And so, this sort of thing continued...you know, Sesshou-maru beating up guys who try to make...erm, advances, on Eira...for 8 more years...  
  
Sesshou-maru sighed, sitting alone in his room. Why did he feel his heart go 'ba-bump' whenever she smiled? Had it always been like this? And why, whenever she was near, did he lose all resolve to tell her that his heart did flipflops when she was around? He remembered how, when they'd been smaller, no one had cared if they bathed together. But now...well, she blushed, he father glared, and his father gave him a look that meant 'you better not even THINK about it' if he even mentioned those times. Were they so afraid he'd do something to her? And what did they think he'd do? He just didn't get it. He sighed, then jumped as he saw a pair of delicate feet in slippers in front of him. He looked up and gulped, seeing a smiling, pale oval face surrounded by long, wavy crimson hair. Bright green eyes were squinting as she smiled, a habit of hers. His heart beat faster and he stood up. "Y-yes, Eira? W-whatever brings you here?"  
"I thought I'd come see if you were awake. There's supposed to be some sort of comet or something right about now, and I thought you might like to see it."   
No wonder she was in his room in the middle of the night. What had he expected? He blushed slightly and grinned. "Sure."  
She grabbed his hand, making his golden/amber eyes bug out. She had touched his hand! And...she was holding it! "Great! Let's go, then!" She said cheerily.  
"Go?" He asked blankly, feeling rather stupid.  
"To the roof! It's flat, and the perfect place to watch the comet from!"   
"Oh. Right." He cursed himself inwardly for his stupidity, and then went along with her to the roof.  
She was right...the comet was out that night, and it was lovely. However, the night air was quite chilly. As the view of the comet ended, Eira stood quietly up, shivering. Sesshou-maru stood up as well.   
"Are you cold?" Without realizing what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.  
Blushing, she replied. "Not anymore..."  
Sesshou-maru realized what he was doing, and turned slightly pink. Something, however, made him not want to stop. He leaned in, until his nose touched hers. His lips were very close to her own rose-tinted, full ones, and that something just kept trying to pull him in...  
"What do you think you are doing to my daughter?" Came a halfway amused voice, owned by a tall, slender youkai who was currently resting one clawed hand on Sesshou-maru's shoulder. Sesshou-maru and Eira turned a bright crimson color, and Sesshou-maru's eyes bugged out. What HAD he been doing? He looked down, saw himself from Eira's father's point of view, and gulped. It had looked as if he'd been...going to seduce her or something...Yikes. He waited to be hit across the head or something even worse as punishment. Instead, he heard his father's voice, and cringed.   
"What's going on out here, Yamin?"  
"Looks like your son was going to kiss my daughter. I might be wrong, it could be totally innocent, but it looked that way to me."  
"Oh, I see." The Great Demon's voice was steely. "And not even telling his father. What did you plan to do, boy? You two aren't exactly engaged...yet. If you'd kissed her, and we'd found out tomorrow instead of tonight, you'd have been engaged to her. After all, we wouldn't have known you'd merely kissed...and she's the daughter of a fairly powerful nobleman...and a good friend of mine."   
Sesshou-maru hung his head slightly. "I...I don't know what came over me, father..." He still had his arms around Eira, as if afraid to let go. "I..." Then he looked up, rather curiously looking at his father. "What else COULD we have done, besides kiss?"  
This took his father aback. He assumed that Sesshou-maru would already have found out about...all that sort of thing. After all, the boy WAS at that curious age. Surely he would have heard some other young men talking? But, no...Sesshou-maru usually hung around with the incredibly naïve and innocent-as she should be, being female-Eira. He really DIDN'T know. The Great Demon sighed. "I think we'd better have a talk...later...alone."   
Eira blushed slightly, getting an odd inkling of what they were going to discuss. "Father?" She spoke to her own father, Yamin. "Father...why is Sesshou-maru getting in trouble? He was only trying to warm me. I brought him out here to see the comet. When we finished watching it, I was cold...shivering, in fact. He asked me if I was cold, and wrapped his arms around me to keep me warm. Is something wrong with that? It didn't feel wrong."  
Yamin sighed. "Well...if you had been...erm...compromised, Sesshou-maru would have had to become your mate. Perhaps against his will. I do not know, I can't read the hearts of others, after all. Can you? Your mother...she can, but she has to know the person very well. She would be no help here, she doesn't know Sesshou-maru very well."  
Eira blushed. She remembered a little 'talk' from her mother that had really been quite vague. "I am not sure that I can, father." As Yamin turned away from her, she whispered. "I wish I could, though."  
Almost a year later...  
  
"Sesshou-maru! Sessh-" A little boy with dog-ears and a big grin said, tugging at his older half-brother's kimono.   
Turning away from Eira with an apologetic smile, he glared down at his little half-brother, Inu Yasha. "Leave me alone, Inu Yasha. Or else..." He pointed a claw very near the young boy's face. Inu Yasha's amber/gold eyes grew big, and he turned and ran, yelling, "Mama!!! MAMMAAA!!"  
Eira sighed. This sort of thing was common. "Sesshou-maru...I think he looks up to you. He thinks you are strong. I would think you'd like that." She gave a smile and a wave to Sesshou-maru, then turned to go back inside.  
Heart thumping like it always did near HER, Sesshou-maru sighed and whispered. "If it was YOU thinking I was strong...then I would be the happiest youkai in the world..."  
In her room, Eira sighed wistfully. "I wish you'd realize that you ARE powerful enough...and that your little half-brother really respects you...almost as much as I do."  
  
A year later...  
  
An ashen-faced Taikiri ran from the room she and her mate, Yamin, shared, tears streaming freely from her face. "YAMIN...YAAAAAMMMIN IIIISSS DDDEADDD!!" She screamed, and fell to the floor, wracked with sobs. Her grief seemed almost abnormal...but this was the price of being a youkai based on love/desire. Once one of them fell in love that was the end-all and be-all. They lived to fall in love with another being, and it would eventually literally kill them if the one they loved truly didn't love them. She sobbed, her heartbreak complete. Yet...she had to live...at least a little longer. She had a daughter to think of. She stood quietly, her face turning emotionless. Her mate had died, yet she had to wipe all thoughts of this from her mind for now...otherwise, she would die. She set her jaw, and made a final decision-she would leave this place, with her daughter. All concern for her daughter's feelings, and Eira's developing love for Sesshou-maru died with Yamin. She now didn't even have the capability of seeing what was plain-as-day written on someone's face, and could care less, reverting to an animalistic state.   
Eira, tears streaming, hugged Sesshou-maru with a ferocity that was unlike she'd ever shown, sobbing and talking at the same time. "M-my...f-father...he's d-d-dead...I-I...m-mother wants to...to...to take me awayyy!" She burst into quiet tears again.   
Her sobs were still ringing in Sesshou-maru's stunned teenage ears as Eira, the girl he'd begun to fall in love with, was led away from his father's Palace by her mother, teary-eyed and waving forlornly. He hated the sound of her tears, he only wanted her to be happy and alright again. Wanted to see her smile, to feel her hand entwined with his, to hear her angelic voice. Would he...could he never hear or see these things again? He hung his head, and swore softly never to love again...all it seemed to bring was pain.  
Eira, meanwhile, was in more pain. Although she'd never admitted to loving Sesshou-maru, she knew in her heart she did, and to be torn from him was torture. She felt estranged from the cold, unemotional animal her mother had become, and feared she too would become that way, deprived of the one she loved. She didn't know what to do, or if she should even follow Taikiri anymore. Her head was full of unanswerable questions and impending depression. Which path was her life to lead to now?  
  
End of Chapter One. To be continued in Chapter Two: Strange Word-Desire. (Yes,I know. It's corny titles all around,eh?^_^)  



	2. 

  
  
Sesshou-maru's Heart  
This fanfiction is based on Rumiko Takahashi's Inu Yasha series, using my character from the Inu Yasha RPG group I am in, and the situations she and the player-controlled Sesshou-maru gets into. Yes, someone plays him. Others play the rest of the 'original' characters. It is ran by Hono. Sorry this chapter's shorter. ^_^ The next one should be long. ^_^ I own Eira, btw. ^_^  
  
Chapter Two-Strange Word:Desire  
  
Eira couldn't understand her life anymore. She grew more and more estranged with her mother, who didn't seem to care at all for her any more. She longed to see Sesshou-maru, yet still had not admitted to herself why. Why did she feel so despairing without him? Why did her life seem meaningless without being able to look into his golden-amber eyes? Was it something he had done, or had she chosen this feeling without understanding what she was doing? She sighed, and began to twist a long strand of wavy crimson hair, trying to decide what to do next. Though she had been away from the Palace of the Great Demon for about a year now, she still felt the rip of separation as though it had been yesterday. She longed to see him again, to hear his voice, so soft and silky, even when he was teasing. She did not understand it, but she knew she lived in this world merely to feel this way towards him. But...why?  
  
In the Palace of the Great Demon, a change had already begun to take over the Great Demon's heir apparent. Sesshou-maru had become increasingly moody, developing a short temper and an eerie calmness that betrayed none of his emotions, even when he battled, which he did more and more these days. Inu Yasha was now completely adoring of Sesshou-maru, irritating him to an immense extent, though none could say why. In his room, the Great Demon thought softly to himself, 'If only my good friend Yamin had not died last year...you, my son, would probably be expecting pups of your own, and no ill will would be borne towards your half-human little brother...Pain of the heart shouldn't be taken out on the innocent...But you shall never see that, my headstrong son...Oh, how I wish things could have been different...' Sighing, the Great Demon shook his head and lay back, falling into an easy sleep, beside his human mate.  
Sleep, however, did not come easily to Sesshou-maru...it had not...not since SHE was gone. Ever since that fateful day last year, Sesshou-maru had done nothing but toss and turn in an uneasy sleep that granted him no rest. He didn't fully comprehend why. All he knew was that he needed Eira back. But he would never let it be known, of course, and swore to push the feeling deep down inside, somewhere no one would ever look to find a weakness, somewhere no one would KNOW to look...  
  
Several years go by...About three, to be precise.  
  
Eira returned to the little encampment her mother and she lived at, to find a rather calm scene, but a morbid one despite the lack of grisly or bloody images. Her mother was sitting in a small pile of silks and furs, huddled, legs drawn up and arms wrapped around them, tears upon her elegant and delicate face. No blood was anywhere, yet she was most certainly dead. Beside her body was a carefully, painstakingly scrawled note. It read:  
Eiralya...my daughter. Know that this is the way of a youkai like you and I. Those of us based on love and desire go insane and eventually die when we are deprived of those we love. I pray that your father's blood in you shall keep from this fate long enough to find that one whom you love once again. Keep well, and begin your search immediately. Don't play games, tell yourself the truth, or you will die the same way I am...  
Taikiri  
  
Oh, mother...Eira thought to herself, tears streaming from her slanted emerald eyes, sparkling as they coursed down her face. 'tell yourself the truth' Taikiri had told her daughter. Fine, then. Eira threw her head back and cried, then, as the tears began to stop flowing, she cried out, as loudly as she could, "I DO love Sesshou-maru, and from this day onwards I shall search for him, until my breath stops cold and my heart ceases its beat! And when I find him, even if he loves another, even if he is the most heartless of youkai, I shall still love him. Even if it kills me, I will love him. That is why I LIVE!" She fell to her knees, sobbing again, as she suddenly understood why she felt so very alone...  
  
So she began a journey. She would find Sesshou-maru. She had sworn to do so, and would NOT fail at her sworn word. The question was-how to find him? Would anyone but another youkai even listen to her long enough for her to ask, without running in fear? She did not know, but she would find out...  
  
Several years pass. It is not obvious as to how many...The Great Palace is in turmoil. It has lost a Lord and a Lady all in one year, and no one is happy about that. Only one face is calm. The one face whom should be most distraught of all holds no emotion of any sort, no tears or emotions of any kind. Sesshou-maru's face. The heir apparent...  
  
"Sesshou-maru! Where's your feelings? Father is DEAD! Don't you even CARE?" A fierce young youkai stands behind his brother, clawed hands in angry fists, fanged teeth clenched together, dog-like ears lying nearly flat at his head, the hairs sticking up like an angry wolf's.  
Sesshou-maru gave a half-smirk. "Care? I stopped caring long ago. You may hold a funeral if you wish, but do not expect me to attend. I shall make no appearance...None at all." He turned to leave quietly, but his half-brother gripped his shoulder.  
Seething, Inu Yasha whispered in a growl, "Sesshou-maru...long ago, I looked up to you... Now, I would not stay in this place with you if life itself depended on it. You won't see me around again..." He turned and stalked to the entrance of the room, then turned and whispered somewhat wistfully, "You've changed Sesshou-maru. You aren't half the man you used to be, and regardless of how worthless you find my life...you'll never live up to the expectations father wanted you to. If only you'd find your heart again...but, you've...changed. And it isn't for the better." With that said, Inu Yasha stalked out of the Palace, wishing nothing else to do with his elder half-brother again.  
"You've changed?" whispered Sesshou-maru, turning away from the direction Inu Yasha had gone. Yes...he thought to himself, I have...changed. But the innocence I once held is gone, and I shall not be able to go back...An image of a smiling, flame-haired youkai came to mind, and he collapsed on his sleeping mat, clutching his head, trying to banish the memory. Unable to do so, he fell into a fitful sleep full of memories-turned-dreams...and nightmares.  
  
Eira was determined to find him. She knew his scent, knew his habits...could feel that she would find him someday. Looking into the sunset, she decided it must be her destiny...She curled upon a large limb of a huge tree, and fell into a deep sleep full of hopes...dreams...and Sesshou-maru.  
  
  
End of Chapter Two. To be continued in Chapter Three: What has Become of You?  
  



	3. What Has Become of You?

Sesshou-maru's Heart   
This fanfiction is based on Rumiko Takahashi's Inu Yasha series, using my character from the Inu Yasha RPG group I am in, and the situations she and the player-controlled Sesshou-maru gets into. Yes, someone plays him. Others play the rest of the 'original' characters. It is ran by Hono. A/N:In this chapter,it has been over 10 years since Eira and Sesshou were separated by fate.^_^  
  
Chapter Three-What Has Become of You?  
  
Several years passed without a thought to those who were affected by this fleeting demeanor of time.  
Sesshou-maru stood at the topmost balcony, staring out across what had been his father, the Great Demon's, land. It was his, now, had he any wish or inclination to rule it. But the youkai of the land had been leaving, slowly, steadily, since his father death. He scowled slightly. He wanted-longed-for adventure...He didn't know where or how or even when he could relieve himself of the endless, tedious monotony of ruling what little he had left to rule. After all, land was all well and good, but ruling is not really ruling unless some subjects remain.   
Suddenly, his reverie was broken by a rather shrill voice. His lip curled in distaste. Jaken. The diminutive toad-youkai had never been a servant Sesshou-maru had considered worthy of serving him, yet, now, Jaken was one of the few left. Sighing, he turned to glare at the toad, eliciting a squeak of apology as Jaken backed away from his Lord a bit.  
"M'Lord...I was told to inform you that several different things have happened. First of all...I must inform you that Lord Shigimori and his Lady wife, Saichi, are withdrawing their oath of fealty, saying they made the oath with your father. They were, I believe, the last of your supporters among the ruling class. Second, I have discovered that there is some sort of treasure-blade associated with your father...it's hidden somewhere, though..."  
Sesshou-maru grabbed Jaken by the throat and lifted him to eye-level. Frightened-and with right to be-the toad demon dropped the Staff of Heads. "Repeat that last bit?" Whispered Sesshou in a rather intrigued voice, though his face was as passive as ever.  
Choking, Jaken gasped for air, but found little."M-M'Lord...can't...erk...breath..." He managed to croak.  
Sighing, Sesshou-maru released Jaken, who instantly fell to the floor, landing on his rear and clutching his air-deprived throat. Crossing his arms, Sesshou glared intensely down at the servant.  
"M'Lord...I only said that there is a treasure-blade your father, the Great Lord Demon, was said to have possessed in the days before his death. No one is sure on where he placed that sword, but it IS known that your brother knows nothing of it..." He knew he'd gone a bit too far mentioning Inu Yasha, and backed slowly away.  
Flexing his claws, Sesshou smiled in a very unpleasant sort of way. "Since you give me good information, I won't hurt you for mentioning that worthless one in my presence. But if you ever do it again..." He flexed his claws again, more dangerously. "You KNOW what I can-and will-do to you."  
"Yes, M'Lord!" Squeaked the terrified toad demon.  
Sesshou-maru turned back to the balcony's edge and peered out over the land again, brroding. He had heard rumors...rumors that his brother had befriended some miko...named Kikya or something like that. He couldn't bother to remember an inconsequential mortal's name, after all. But he had heard that this priestess held a jewel that was incredibly powerful. He wondered if his brother was only after the jewel, or if perhaps his foolish half-blood pup of a brother wanted a mate. Either way, he was certainly sinking to his intended level, as Sesshou had always known the infant would. He sighed and turned back to Jaken. "When can we leave to begin our search for this treasure-blade? Knowing father like I do, I can only imagine that he would hide such a thing in his grave, yet no one that I can think of knows where it is. We have a long journey. Pack your things, little toad, and we shall be off."  
Jaken nodded, and then rushed off to pack his things. Sesshou-maru had no need. He would take what he needed on the trip, from mortals or even weaker youkai. He turned to survey his lands once more before leaving for a long journey-if only he KNEW how long...  
  
Eira awoke from a light sleep at the sound of rustling. She sat up and looked around. Suddenly, she noticed a pair of eyes in the brush, watching her with a mix of terror and awe. She called gently, so as not to frighten. "Who's there? Please, come out, I mean you no harm..." She smiled brightly.  
To her surprise, a small mortal stepped out of the brush, a little girl with light brown hair and soft, innocent brown eyes. She looked up at Eira as if amazed and afraid at the same time. Quietly, curiously, she whispered. "Are you a goddess? My mommy says there are lots of goddesses, that they are all around you, but you usually don't see them. Are you one?"   
Eira laughed softly and smiled. "No, I am not a goddess, but I do not intend to harm you. However, I doubt your mommy would want you talking to me, most grown-ups don't like my kind. While I would love to talk to you, as I have had very little company for many years, I think it ,might be best if you returned to your mommy, she might be worried about you."   
The little girl gazed at Eira a bit more, then spoke again, with a bit more confidence. "Mommy once told me that some youkai look like gods and goddesses. You must be a youkai! But...she said some youkai aren't very nice. Are you a nice youkai?"   
Her naivete maid Eira grin. "Yes, I am a nice one, but there might be others, bad ones, around nearby, so you really should return to the safety of your home. I'll go with you as far as the front of your land, but I shall not enter, I doubt I'd be welcomed."  
The little girl nodded and grabbed Eira's slender, delicate hand with her own childish one. "My name is Ikue, what's yours?"  
"I am Eira." She smiled. "Eiralya, really, but everyone calls me Eira."  
She let Ikue lead her to the edge of the girl's small property, then waved, noticing the slight smile and nod from the one who must surely be Ikue's mother. Waving, she disappeared into the brush, with a smile playing about her features and joy at having a bit of companionship, if only for a very short time.  
  
Sesshou-maru and Jaken set off that very evening. Although Sesshou-maru remained stoic and impassive, Jaken kept sneaking glances back at the slowly vanishing palace. When it was completely gone from view, he sighed dismally, and Sesshou-maru stopped, turned, and backhanded him across the face.   
"M-M'Lord!??" Jaken yelped, surprised.  
"Stop acting like a sniveling pup." With those curt words, he turned and continued walking at a rather swift pace, leaving Jaken behind to catch up, which eventually the toad-youkai did. After the hard slap, however, he remained fairly quiet.  
"Hmmm, the best place to begin this search would be at any tomb-like sites or large mounds. Which is nearest?"  
Jaken referred to a map and named off the nearest burial-style sites.  
"Hmmm,I doubt it would be in the Wakai family's land, they were always begrudging of my father...Perhaps somewhere else..." He glared coldly at Jaken, as though expecting the little servant to have remembered that the Wakai's had never cared much for his father and family.   
Jaken shuddered a bit and his eyes widened for a few moments before stuttering. "I-I...of course I knew that, M'Lord! I was...just...TESTING you, you see!"  
In a cold, dangerous voice, Sesshou whispered. "Well...don't test me again. You may not-nay, WILL not like the results." He examined one claw idly, as if making sure it was sharp enough.  
Jaken gulped noticeably. "Of course not, M'Lord! Whatever you say, M'Lord!"  
Inwardly, Sesshou-maru growled. How he hated all of this 'M'Lord' apple-polishing. He KNEW Jaken only called him thus because he was afraid of 'His Lord's' impressive fighting capabilities coupled with the fact that he was known to be cold a ice, hard as stone, and willing and able to kill someone without a bit of remorse. He sighed. Unlike his father, he, Sesshou-maru, had never gained the real respect of his subjects...probably why they'd began leaving and breaking oaths of fealty once The Great Demon died. Feh. He'd show them all, by becoming the most powerful youkai there was. And, in his search for power, he would surely never be bored. A slightly evil grin came to his inside thoughts. And, he could always torment Jaken. That wouldn't cease to amuse him.   
Despite all of his thoughts, his expression was passive and icy-cool as always. He had, long ago, forgone any real emotions showing on the exterior. In fact, he rarely let them show on the inside. He had truly changed, but he remembered very little of his past self-he only remembered that he'd become this way for a reason, and accepted it without question as the way he was. If he recalled any reason for change, it was only in his sometimes-fitful dreams, and those he shrugged off easily. Too easily, really...  
  
Eira awoke yet again on another peaceful morning. She stretched and carefully changed into her clean clothes, folding and vowing to wash those she'd slept in. She was entering slightly familiar territory, yet had heard little of Sesshou-maru. She sighed. Only the thought of someday finding him kept her going, she knew. She wondered how long that hope would sustain her. However, in this region she HAD heard a few rumors concerning Sesshou's little brother, Inu Yasha. She remembered him well, but doubted she should ask him of his brother-she'd also heard that they'd had a falling out...that Sesshou was no longer the man she had once loved. She'd heard that he was cruel, cold, heartless...Bitter, soulless and as willing to kill a loved one as to welcome them with open arms. But it mattered little, her heart would not change it's course, and she would love him until the day she died, although at this point she'd rather have found him, only to have him take her life on the point of his sword, than to never find him and die of heartbreak. After all, only rumors of him could not sustain her, she needed to see him, to speak with him...To be his, whether his enemy or friend. She would rather meet him and be enemy and meant only for death than for a meeting to elude her and cause her a slow, painful death, as was her mother's. She whispered softly to herself, tears splashing quietly down her cheeks and staining her elegant yukata. "Oh...My Love...What has become of you?"   
.   
  
End of Chapter Three. To be continued in Chapter Four: Love Holds True  



End file.
